The Bullet and The Valentine
by UlurNaga
Summary: With the Deepground battle at hand, Vincent finds himself with a dangerous comrade. An explosives technician with a mysterious vendetta against the Tsviets. Vincent/OC Friendship Fic. DISCONTINUED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
1. Intro

**Greeting readers! This story is a little something that has been floating around in my head for a **_**very**_** long while. I began writing it a long time ago under the title "I Work Alone" but, reading over it in recent months made me cringe at the bad writing and the Mary-Sue personality antics.**

**So I've decided to rewrite it with a little more finery :)**

**Each chapter in this story will be inspired by, and named after; a Bullet For My Valentine song of some variety. At the beginning of each story I will list a specific timeframe of the song that was particularly attuned to making me really "feel" the story, along with lyrics from the song that are relative or tied into it in some way. **

**I will be posting links to the song entitled in the chapter, I really suggest listening to them while reading the chapter, for full effect of the story.**

**I will be working very hard on this story, so reviews and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are most welcome. **

**Flames however; will be used to cook my breakfast.**

**I very much hope you enjoy it.**

_Bullet For My Valentine Song: Intro_

_Instrumental Inspirational: The whole song is instrumental ;P_

_Link to song: www . youtube .com/watch?v=ivLIvuaZbIY (minus the spaces)_

* * *

Wutai was beautiful in the spring. The cherry blossom trees would reach full bloom, the waters were clear and pristine and the best thing of all about spring in Wutai, was that everyone's families came to visit in the beautiful weather; siblings, cousins, estranged relatives and grandchildren. Oh there were so many more children running around Wutai during the blossom season.

Three of these particular children were siblings; offspring to the second-in-line heir of Wutai. They spent most of their years living in Cosmo Canyon, growing up around the history and study of the Planet's wonders. They would spend the entire three months of spring in Wutai, the land of their ancestors, to be with their grandparents.

Their favourite thing about visiting Wutai was their grandfather's stories. While he may have been serious, strict and reputedly an amazing fighter in his day; he never lacked memories of his years as a warrior. Every year in the spring time he would tell these stories to his grandchildren.

These three children varied in age, the youngest being Kurosu at 6 years old. He had tanned olive skin like that of his mother; a native of Cosmo Canyon. His hair was an incredibly dark shade of brown, blending gently with several sun kissed mocha streaks throughout its layers. It was cut scruffy, just brushing his cheekbones in a loose mop of waves. His eyes were a gentle, rustic brown; almost the colour of dried blood.

Being the youngest of the siblings, he was prone to being overly adoring of his older siblings and was never far from them. He carried a stuffed Moogle with him everywhere he went, affectionately named Kupo.

The eldest child was Anzho, the sincere and mature girl of 15. She took after their father with her grey eyes and sleek, black hair. Her flesh was as pale as the snow that fell in Wutai's winter months and her demeanour nature was just as cool and calm.

Like her father, she was already training in the arts of the Shuriken; a tradition taught from the teenage years among the Wutainese. She was very much like her grandfather in the sense that she took a calculating, sensible approach to everything she did. It was all about logic for Anzho.

Then…there was Raiga. The middle child who enjoyed playing jokes and making others laugh. Being only 11 years of age she had a lot of growing up to do later in her life; but her good heart was never mistaken. Straight, rust brown locks cover her scalp in a dense, chin length bob and her blood-coloured eyes were as intense as liquid rubies. It was a running joke in the family, that she had inherited the bubbly personality from her grandmother.

These three sibling were currently sitting outside their family's estate, enjoying the brisk weather as they watched the cherry blossoms floating through the wind. Raiga was sitting on the porch steps, twining Anzho's silken waist length hair into an intricate braid. A pile of soft branched cherry flowers sat next to Raiga on the porch which she was using to decorate Anzho's hair. Kurosu was lying on his stomach next to the flower pile, every so often picking up a twig and pulling the petals off one by one. Kupo was rested next to his shoulder, a vacant smile stitched onto its face.

Both girls wore traditional Wutainese kimonos, with intricate patterns and festive obis around the waist. Kurosu's garment was a simple Wutainese training robe with a length of cloth belted at the waist.

"Hey Anny-chan?" he murmured, watching his sister have her hair braided.

Anzho turned her head slightly in response to her brother. "Yes?'

"Do you think that Oji-chan's stories are really about him?"

She smiled knowingly. "Of course Kuro. Haven't you noticed that Oji is so much like the man he tells us he was? He's quiet and doesn't like to show people how he feels! And he's a silly, grumpy scrooge."

"I didn't know I was thought of so highly." Came a heavy baritone voice from behind them.

Kurosu squeaked in surprise, and Raiga snorted at her siblings being "busted" but Anzho just sat calmly and smiled. "Of course Oji-chan. It's because of all those things we love you. Even if you _are_ a scrooge."

A deep, rare chuckle rumbled up their grandfather's throat as he looked down at his family. "Well, now. That's a relief to hear. So why the doubt in my stories, Kurosu? Not losing faith in me are you?"

The little boy's eyes widened in shock. "No Grandpa! I just…It's just that…How come we've never seen you turn into the scary man you and Oba-chan talk about in all your stories? The man you said looks like a monster."

"It's a demon, Kuro." Anzho corrected, "And it's name is Chaos."

A smile crossed his face. "Well it seems like you _do_ remember my stories, Anzho."

She nodded in response, the calm look never leaving her eyes. "Absolutely. You have, after all, been telling me these tales since before I was Kurosu's age. But he's right Grandpa. You've never shown us the demon."

"That's because Chaos doesn't live inside me anymore." He stated simply. What none of the children except Anzho noticed, was that their grandfather's eyes darkened at that comment. As if remembering something that hurt him to think about. Closing his eyes he sighed and sat down on the porch steps, next to his grandchildren.

"I've avoided telling you all this story because I thought it was too grown up for you…but it sounds like you all want to hear about why I don't turn into Chaos anymore. Am I right?"

All three nodded. They were huddled around their Oji-chan, waiting eagerly to hear the tale.

"What happened Oji?" Raiga exclaimed, shuffling closer on her bottom.

Vincent Valentine took a deep breathe before he spoke again. It had been a long time since he'd dug up these memories; they were buried so deeply in his heart that there were times he himself nearly forgot.

_No…that's a lie my friend. I would never forget what you did for me_.

"I'm going to tell you a very special story. It's about people who helped me when I was in a very dark place. I was very troubled, and had it not been for certain circumstances I don't think I would be here telling you this story today. It was a time when I was much less open, when I didn't let anybody in. But there were people who helped me. They were good people who helped set into play a chain of events that got rid of Chaos that lived inside me."

"You mean Avalanche?" Anzho questioned, her face confused. "But I've heard this story lots of times."

Vincent shook his head. "No Anzho. While Avalanche has helped me a great deal, they had very little to do with this. No, in this story I was helped in particular by one person. Someone who helped me even when they were hurting inside themself, just like I was."

"Who was it Oji?" Kurosu gushed, clutching his Moogle closer.

A distant smile crossed his wrinkled face as he spoke the name for the first time in years. The memory of it still felt so fresh.

"Her name was Tai Lochier."

* * *

_Tat, tat, tat_. The metallic sound of buckles bumping against leather as footsteps thudded on the cobblestone echoed on the walls around. The sound of the heavy boots almost drowned out the gentle, metal tinkling but in the silence, both managed to be audible.

Heavy, haggard breathes escaped chapped lips, and dusty coloured hair flew wildly behind the figure. The enemy was unaware of her presence, but that could change any second; she needed to be fast. Reaching her lithe fingers into the pouch on her left hip, she nimbly fished out a flip-top Zippo, lighting it quickly to check it worked. Her sharp green eyes darted around the street in lookout for any foes, and her ears strained for any sign of alarm.

She could hear guns firing up ahead, just over a group of tall buildings. That only meant one of two things; either the WRO had been spotted, or Deepground was attacking civilians and she sincerely hoped it was the former. Reaching down as she ran she pulled a stick of dynamite from the straps on her boot, used her teeth to tear the plastic cap off the end of the fuse and ran faster. She scanned the buildings for something to climb. She needed a vantage point, and being on the ground was not going to work.

"Ah-ha!" she exclaimed, spotting a rusty ladder to the side of an alley. Swinging her full weight onto its metal bars, she felt it creak under her mass; but she had no time to find a safer route. One hand over the other, one foot at a time; she needed to be _up there_! Never in her life had she climbed so fast, and just before she could swing her leg over the ladder onto the flat rooftop, it gave an almighty metallic screech and collapsed. As it clanged deafeningly onto the ground below, she hung perilously with her hands clutching the railing around the roof.

"_Shit_…" she gasped, looking down at what could have quite possibly been her death. Heaving herself up onto the roof, she turned away from the sight and gasped in surprise as she was met with the sight of several Deepground Soldiers, as well as several of the four-legged variety.

"Hostile! Soldiers! Fire at will!" came the command from one of the men.

In the split second it took them to raise their weapons, she had snapped her lighter to life, ignited the fuse on the explosive in her hand and was hurling it into the middle of the faction. A vengeful smirk slid onto her face as they were startled by the speed of her movements. As the fuse burned out, Tai swung herself onto the railing, using it as a brace to push herself off, just as the dynamite set off a massive explosion behind her.

She flailed through the air as she sailed onto the roof of the next building, landing in a graceless heap as she skidded across the concrete. Small scraps of metal and cement rained around her as she sat up. She had several bleeding cuts across her arm and the small scrape on her forehead stung like acid, but she was otherwise unharmed.

She could not say the same for her Deepground assailants.

"Such a pity…" she mused sadly, "Good waste of dynamite."

Snorting at her own vengeful humour, she turned her attention to the battle going on just several streets away from her. She needed to find out whether civilian lives were in danger, or the WRO had blown their cover. Moving with all the haste she could muster she flew over the rooftops, stumbling several times when she overestimated her jumping capabilities. Closer, closer; she was almost on top of the location of the gunshots. Then, just as she landed on the last building-

"Rio! No!" a scream came from the junction she was racing too.

Sliding to a stop at the edge of the building, she discovered the area crawling with various Deepground Soldiers of several kinds. The WRO was nowhere to be seen. They hadn't arrived yet. However she had been lucky; having been staying in Kalm overnight before she planned to travel onward to Junon. That was when Deepground had attacked, and she had been stuck trying to figure out what was going on while the WRO made haste from Edge.

"Shit!" she hissed again, spotting a small girl being dragged away by a Beast Soldier. The mother was sobbing at the end of the alley, just below where she stood. Steeling herself for a jump that was most certainly going to make her ankles ache for the next week, she leapt from the wall and combat rolled onto the cobblestone ground in front of the woman. The Beast Soldier was dragging the small child towards what looked like a containment unit, throwing the sobbing girl in before it closed behind her.

"Hey! Fido! Over here boy!" she screeched, charging out of the alleyway and into the small town square. The creature was slowly making its way over to her, and she could hear other Deepground Soldiers making their approach.

"My name is Tai, and I'll be your explosives tech today." She pulled her handgun from the holster on the back of her belt, never once taking her eyes of the circling beast. "Please keep your hands and feet attached to your body at all times. Failure to do this will cause me to laugh at your misfortune." The animal creature charged at her in a violent, frighteningly fast manner, and Tai cocked her gun at the same alarming speed, "Thank you for your attention…"

_BANG_!

"…and have a nice afterlife."

The Beast Soldier dropped like a rock, just as Tai heard a gun being cocked and loaded. Spinning on her heel she spotted the Deepground assailant in the window of a building, fired off a few rounds to his head and repeated this method for the three other soldiers scattered around the square.

With the immediate danger taken care of, Tai quickly made her way over to the containment box, trying to lift the door with no success. She took a few steps back, aimed and then proceeded to shoot roughly 7 or 8 rounds at the lock system. Once this was accomplished, the door lifted much easier and the little girl came stumbling out in tears. She looked up at Tai in shock and disbelief, to which she just gestured her head towards the girl's sobbing, oblivious mother.

"Your Mom's waiting for you kid, better get going." She stated, a gentle smirk on her features.

The little girl nodded with tears in her eyes. "Th-thank you!"

Suddenly there was the sound of metallic boots thumping quickly on the cobblestone nearby. After once more cocking her handgun, Tai raised it ready and pressed her back against the wall, waiting for whoever it was to show their face. She edged her nose around the corner, keeping as out of range as possible.

_The less of you there is to hit, the less chance you have of _**being**_ hit_.

The memory of that advice sat comfortably in the back of her head. She was ready, whoever they were.

"Waiting for someone?" came a dark, baritone voice from behind her.

A gasp escaped her lips as she turned and found herself staring down three gun barrels that were all trained on her. Holding this deadly weapon was a man of considerable height dressed in a red cloak and wearing the most burning expression she'd ever seen.

"Whoa, whoa! What the hell are you doing?" she hissed, whipping her gun up into a counteroffensive position at his chest. "You shoot, I shoot. Don't mess with me, Tsviet!"

"What?" the demonic looking man narrowed his eyes at her, appearing confused by her accusation. "Who are you?"

Tai's gaze narrowed and she pressed her gun further into his chest. "I was just about to ask you the same question, Skeletor! Where are the rest of them?"

"The rest of who?" he sounded annoyed now.

"Don't play dumb with me! The rest of the Tsviets, ass wipe!"

"I think you're mistaken. I've got no idea what you're-"

Before the man in red could finish his sentence, the deafening whir of a helicopter was heard and sure enough there was a massive war craft hovering over the main courtyard. Before he could react to her, Tai had ducked underneath him with lightning speed and bolted for the direction the helicopter was heading in to land.

Unbeknownst to her, the man in the red cape was following behind, also wanting to determine the threat of the helicopter and its forces.

Coming up to the courtyard, Tai froze at the sight of the Deepground Dragonfly lowering soldiers to the ground. They charged forward with their weapons ready, their helmets hiding all traces of emotion and identifiable faces. Slowly bending down, she withdrew three sticks of dynamite from her boot and slipped her lighter out of her belt pouch. In a flash she tore the plastic off the fuses, lit all the explosive sticks at the same time and hurled them at the Deepground hoard with a furious cry.

It took only seconds for the soldiers to start firing in response, paying no heed to the explosives that had just been thrown at them. One soldier in particular charged forwards without a trace of fear. In horror, Tai raised her gun to retaliate and fired.

Nothing happened.

A feeling of horrible dread filled the pit of her stomach. Her gun was empty.

"_Fuck_!" she screeched, then flipped the weapon in her hand to use as a club, waiting for the solider to reach her.

_BANG_!

There was a ringing shot that went off in the night, and the soldier fell to the ground; his momentum causing the dead body to roll to a stop at her feet. She turned in shock to see the red-cloaked man holding his gun at the ready as he stood beside her.

"What-?" she choked, "You're not with Deepgrou-?"

Before she could finish her statement, the dynamite detonated. Smoke, stone and fire filled the area before it started to clear. Nothing was left. Tai's explosives, if not flashy, were at least efficient. With the threat eliminated she turned to face the man.

"You-you shot Deepground Soliders! Why?"

"Who are you?" he rumbled, completely ignoring her line of questioning. "Why are you here."

"I'm from the WRO you dumbass! If you're on our side, then why just come barging into the scene without warning? I could have killed you!"

The dark haired man's eyes narrowed in sarcastic amusement. "Somehow I doubt that."

Tai's eyes flashed and she turned to him in a wild fury, her dusty blonde hair flying into a knotted mass from the wind. She pulled the magazine from her gun, reloaded it and slid it back into the holster at her back. "What's that supposed to mean? I could kick your ass you fucking Skeletor! I could've-"

"Duck!" he yelled, barrelling into her and knocking them behind a white supply crate. As he did so, a rain of bullets showered around them, some thudding into the other side of the box they were hiding behind. Peeking over the box, Tai saw the previously absent Dragonfly aircraft hovering dangerously low to the ground, looking for them.

"Shit! We can't fight that thing! I'm almost out of ammo! We need to take cover!" she yelled over the helicopters rotating blades. Raising her hand to the front of her shirt, she unclipped one of the grenades on the strap across her chest.  
"What are you doing?" snapped the raven haired man, his eyes widening in surprise.

Tai subtly pointed to their right, at a doorway that was about 2 and a half metres away. It wasn't far, but the Dragonfly would easily lock on to them if they ran for it. This was when Tai caught his gaze and raised the grenade to show him her plan.

A diversion.

Biting the pin between her teeth, she ripped it from the device and hurled it with all her might. True to her form, it landed right in front of the Dragonfly before exploding in superior style. She grabbed his gauntleted hand and took off towards the doorway.

"Now! Come on! Move!" she screamed. Her diversion had given them the window of only a second or two, and then the Dragonfly opened fire. Bullets rained behind them at their feet. Using a burst of superior speed, the man in red overtook her and shouldered the door open, collapsing to the ground inside. Tai threw herself through the air and into the open doorway, kicking it shut quickly with her foot before the bullets could be angled inside the doorframe.

The Dragonfly could be heard outside for a few minutes, obviously waiting for them to return to the battlefield. But after it found no trace of entrance or anyway to access them, it was heard flying away over the building. Tai exhaled heavily, feeling the cool dusty floorboards against the back of her arms.

"You never answered my question." She suddenly stated, hauling herself to her feet and leaning against the wall. "If you're not with Deepground, who are you? And why exactly are you here."

"Vincent Valentine. I'm here because of a favour to a comrade."

Her gaze narrowed in suspicion, not entirely sure what to make of his answer. "A friend? Who?"

"Reeve."

"Reeve? Reeve Tuesti? You don't look like WRO." Tai was standing opposite Vincent, her left hand twitching in anticipation; just waiting for a sign that she needed her gun. It was now that the danger was over that he was able to take in her appearance. Her hair was a dirty blonde, with short layers around her face and fierce, murky green eyes; a suspicious scowl marring her lips. Her attire radiated an aura of military aspect, with dark beige cargo shorts, a sleeveless black turtleneck and a pair of scuffed brown leather boots that stopped at her knees. A leather sash of grenades was slung around her chest; one or two of the clip slots empty from use of the weapons. A leather belt was slung loosely on her hips, bearing a small hip bag on the left side where she obviously kept her lighter, matches and other items that needed to be accessed quickly. At the back was a holster for her gun, the handle pointing to her left. All evidence pointed to her being a left handed fighter, which was an unusual trait to have, given that her left arm bore a metallic brace frame; indicating a certain weakness in the arm.

"I'm not. I was in Kalm when the attack happened. Reeve said he needed my assistance, and from what lack of ability I've seen in your skills; I'd say he was right."

Her eyes widened in sudden shock at his insult, before narrowing once more. She whipped her hand behind her and clipped the gun out of her holster. "Why you ignorant mother fu-!"

A loud thump resounded a floor above them, causing both of them to turn their attention to the situation at hand. A click was heard; Vincent loaded Cerberus as Tai topped up her Beretta and clicked the magazine back into place. Raising it into a ready position, she turned to Vincent as she made her way down the corridor.

"I've got Deepground Soldiers to kill. Don't get in my way."


	2. Dignity

**Yes, yes I KNOW it has been a long time since I updated, but this chapter has been really blocking me at the moment, but I think I've fixed that problem.**

**I had a few issues of how to continue the chapter, so here's to hoping!**

**I give you chapter 2 of The Bullet and The Valentine.**

**This chapter is also very much dedicated to R . Reeves(Linnyxito on Deviantart) because without her awesome feedback on the first chapter and constant putting up with my harrassment of my commission on DA, I probably never would've gotten around to dusting off this story and continuing it. So you guys owe this chapter to her! Enjoy!**

_Bullet For My Valentine Song: Dignity._

_Instrumental Inspiration: 2:33-3:35_

_Link to Song: www . youtube __. com/watch?v=bk2al-UWnyY (minus the spaces)_

_Don't tell me where I will lay in your cemetery  
Don't try to silence and bury me  
Don't push me cause I won't go quietly  
I'd rather die with dignity_

* * *

The sound of a pen scratching against paper repeated in the silence, the author completely ignoring the sound of machinery and voices outside her door. Tai was used to them now. She remembered her first few weeks in service of the WRO and how little sleep she'd gotten from the constant noise and bustle.

Now she couldn't sleep without it.

Leaning back in her chair, the scratching of the pen ceased and the legs of her chair creaked. Writing in her journal was something that gave her peace of mind; something she did at the end of every day. Her line of work never promised a long lifespan and it was a poetic thought to her that if she ever perished in battle, the words in her journal would be all she could leave behind. She didn't have many worldly possessions, and those she did were safe in her hometown.

A sigh escaped Tai as she stood up and made her way to the metal shelf in the corner of her room. Everything in the WRO base was made of metal, but she was used to it now. It reminded her of home. Junon's metal shipping ports and massive concrete airship bases had been a part of her childhood, and it was comforting to be around familiar things.

Picking up a small frame, she stared at the photograph for a few moments before placing it back where she left it. It felt good to be able to have a sanctuary to hide herself in, especially after her run in with Reeve's "friend" Vincent Valentine. Remembering the way the Tsviets in Kalm had focused their attention on him annoyed her.

In fact, it downright _pissed her off_.

Whatever the "Protomateria" they had demanded was, she had no idea what it did or why they wanted it. Neither did she care, they could have the Materia _and_ Vincent Valentine as far as she was concerned. What she _was_ bothered by, was the fact that there had been Tsviets right in _front_ of her and she had completely frozen up.

Stunned like some freshly graduated novice out of tech school.

_Empty. _

_The room was completely empty. A few barrels were scattered around, some crates lay unopened and there was what looked like the remnants of a tarp in one corner; but there were no soldiers. Tai, however, didn't lower her weapon. She'd had enough experience against Deepground to know better…_

_As she and Vincent cautiously made their way towards the windows on the other side, there was a loud crashing sound that drew both their attention to the wall on the left hand side. Tai gasped from a bated breathe as the wall caved into the room, showering rubble and concrete all over the floorboards. She took a defensive stance with her feet balance further apart and waited for the threat to enter the room. __A colossal giant of a man trode his way through the cavity, his face neutral and blank; completely void of emotion. He was followed by a small girl with brown hair, much younger in age and a small team of Deepground Soldiers.. Tai gave a choked gasp at the sight of the ice-haired giant, and Vincent heard the leather of her glove creak as her grip tightened considerably on her gun._

"_You…" she whispered in horror, appearing very much like a deer caught in headlights as she looked up at him._

_They, however, completely ignored her presence; focusing their attention entirely on Vincent. The child stepped out from behind the large one, her gaze transfixed with a wicked orange colour and her voice monotonous as she said, "The Protomateria. Tell us where it is." _

_To Tai's shock, Vincent said nothing. Their attention was obviously entirely trained on him and this made Tai wonder; what was his connection to Deepground? And what was this Protomateria they were after? However Tai's musings were brought crashing back to reality as the giant man spoke once more._

"_Hail Weiss…"_

_She was unable to say anything in response, because the Deepground troops saluted with their rifles and repeated, "Hail Weiss!"_

_She turned to look at Vincent to see if he knew any of what was going on, but before she could make any eye contact, the troops opened fire. Tai shrieked in surprise as a bullet whizzed past her ear, stunning her for a brief second before she started to fire her gun; trying to aim for vital points like the head and heart. Her "comrade's" skill with a firearm was impressive, but she insisted to herself that she'd seen it done better. She grew angry at the soldier's presences, the giant at the entrance was her main concern, he was one of the ones she needed to kill! Leaving Vincent to polish off the rest of the troops, she turned to her target._

"_You!" she hissed, "Look me in the eye you bastard! You die here!" she growled. The tone in her voice led Vincent to believe that she knew who this massive assailant was, and that she had some reason to fight him._

_He smirked calmly as he stepped a little closer, taking no heed to his troops that had fallen. "Challenge accepted."_

_There was a tense aura in the air as the two fighters squared off. However Tai's face showed considerably more emotion than the hulking beast. Her eyes were wild in burning fury; her features knitted into a horrendous scowl that could have destroyed lesser men. She slid a stick of dynamite from the strap on her boot and slowly began to inch her hand towards the pouch with her lighter. But a moment of hesitation was caused as the small girl beside the giant collapsed behind him. __The colossal man cast a glance back at his comrade and gave an amused scoff. Then he turned his penetrating gaze to Tai, feeling him near burning out her soul with his eyes. She felt a chill run up her spine, before it settled at the base of her tailbone as an angry heated rage. It was like a second will that was not her own; a purpose that she was currently failing to fulfil. A commotion was heard from elsewhere in the building, lead by a voice she knew._

"_This way!"_

"_Reeve!" she whispered in shock, her gaze never breaking from the man before her. It was like her body could no longer move under her own command. The hatred that was boiling under her skin was consuming her; she was immobile._

_**Move Tai! MOVE! It's for **__**her**__**!**_

"_Luck is on your side." The giant muttered calmly, turning away from Tai and lifting the girl with one hand. Had Tai been listening, she would've been able to make out the girl muttering something under her breath, but she was too far gone in shock. Like something traumatic was playing within her head, and this had Vincent confused for a moment. Then the giant man turned to look at him, completely ignoring his former opponent._

"_I am Azul. We will meet again." And with this, he made his exit through the hole in the wall, almost in a leisurely way. It was then that Vincent's attention was draw to Tai as she sharply took in a breath._

"_No…" she whispered, her eyes vacant and resting on the floor. She slowly slid to her knees, her fists clenched. Before he could question her as to her connection to the soldiers, the door burst open. Reeve Tuesti entered, a choked gasp escaping him._

"_What happened here?" he exclaimed as he ran over to where Vincent and the collapsed girl were located. His gaze turned to Tai and he hurriedly knelt down on one knee in front of her. "Tai! Are you alright? Who were those soldiers that just left?"_

_Vincent cut in, seeing that the girl on the floor was too tied up to respond. "The large one call himself Azul."_

_Reeve gasped and looked up at Vincent, standing as the WRO medic began to look Tai over. "Azul…The Cerulean? Of the Tsviets? But that can only mean-"_

"_It was __**them**__…" came a hissed mutter. Tai slowly got to her feet, her gun clutched in her hand. "All I did…was stand there…" within an instant, she snapped out of her revere and turned to Vincent, narrowing her blazing stare. "What do they want with you? They spoke to you!"_

"_I don't-"_

"_Commissioner!"_

That was when the WRO had found them, and Cait Sith had made his presence known. The memory of it made Tai sigh. The creature was nothing if not persuasive; for he'd talked Vincent into helping the WRO. Thankfully for Tai, the two of them had gone in different directions after Cait Sith's appearance. Tai had been focused on her own objectives in Kalm and she wasn't going to be driven from them by the likes of _Vincent Valentine_. Reeve had later tried to talk her down from her intense dislike of the man, telling her he was a good friend and a capable fighter. But she didn't want to hear it. The man was insufferable and even now, as Tai realized that the gunslinger had invaded her thoughts she grew annoyed.

Running a hand through her hair she gave an exasperated sigh. She was currently off duty, preparing for bed and a good night's rest. Her metal arm brace had been removed and replaced with the soft leather one she used for sleeping. She disliked making such a physical weakness apparent, but it couldn't be helped. She tied her hair up into a loose ponytail and rubbed her eyes sleepily before grabbing her water bottle; only to find it was empty.

"Great…" she mumbled, shaking it aggressively in the vain hope that it would miraculously fill itself. Sighing she resolved that she would have to go to the kitchens and refill it before bed. And if she left her room she'd need to pee.

_Gods_ she hated bedtime.

Muttering and grumbling to herself she left her room, clicking the door shut behind her and heading down the hall; bottle in hand. The kitchens were on the opposite side of the lot to Tai, another reason for her lethargy. Walking around the base barefoot was never a good idea, the metal flooring was always cold and in winter it was a formidable threat to frostbite, but Tai currently couldn't be bothered wearing shoes.

"Hey, Tai!" came a voice from behind her. It was Josef, a mid 40's, veteran recruit of the WRO. He was one of the very few that were unafraid of Tai's spitfire temper. They were not what you could call friends, but existed in mutual respect of one another. He sped up to fall in step beside her. "Some of the guys are having a drink in the Rec Room, you want in?" he asked, turning and catching her gaze tensely. She looked at him slyly as she walked, a cocky, dangerous expression on her face.

"That depends. Are you willing to face me down with a Whisky Death Sting yet?"

The man snorted at her before shaking his head. "_Unlikely_. I saw enough from the last newbie you tricked into trying to outdrink you. Poor kid's gut burned for a week."

Tai shrugged indignantly. "Should've known better than to square off with a Junon native. Booze is what we do best."

Josef scoffed cockily. "Alright, alright. I get it. Actually, to be honest I was sent to find you. Reeve needs to see you in his office before you go to bed." He turned to leave down one of the adjacent corridors as Tai waved a had non-chalantly.

"I'll go in the morning. I seriously can't be assed."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. "No. He said now, Tai. Sounded like it was important. Something about your mission in Kalm?"

Tai whipped her face around, her expression looking as if Josef had just thrown a spider at her. Then it fell to a grimacing frown. "Great… Thanks old man."

He was already halfway down the corridor when he gave a half-hearted wave without turning to face her or halting his movements.

"Anytime, small fry."

Tai was left standing in the hallway contemplating whether or not sleep was worth Reeve's lecture in the morning. Deciding that getting her ear verbally chewed off first thing in the morning was not what she wanted to have her coffee with, she gave a frustrated growl and turned on her heel to Reeve's office.

* * *

"I appreciate your help in Kalm, Vincent. It was invaluable to have you keep things under control until we could get there." Reeve sighed, slumping into his office chair and savouring the feeling of being off his feet.

Vincent was sitting in the chair across from his desk, perched at the edge as if ready for whatever form of threat might come through the door. He watched as Reeve poured himself a large glass of scotch and took a sip.

"I was in the neighbourhood." Vincent muttered, shaking his head in polite refusal as Reeve offered him a drink. The WRO commissioner laughed at Vincent's subtle, sarcastic humour.

"The reason I asked you here Vincent is important. I think you'd be best to stay with the WRO. For whatever reason, Deepground went for you. It would be a good idea for you to remain under our protection."

Vincent smirked beneath the cowl of his cloak, a gesture Reeve didn't catch. "Sure that's not the only reason? I think you want me to keep things "under control" again on a regular basis."

The commissioner's face flushed pink for a second, embarrassed that his ulterior motive had been caught out. "I confess, you would be a valuable asset to the military here. But as your friend, your safety is a concern to me,…Will you join us Vincent?"

The red clad man shrugged. "Fine. If they're after me I might as well go down fighting."

Reeve seemed to visibly relax at that response, but something still seemed to be troubling him. "I…Vincent, I want you to work with Tai."

_This_ piqued his interest. "That girl from Kalm who couldn't shoot properly?"

"Firearms aren't her specialty: it's a back up weapon. Tai is our explosives technician and she's gifted at it. But…"

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "But?"

Reeve sighed, actually relieved that so far Tai was not there to hear their conversation. "Well…she tends to work solo; in fact she's fierce about it. But lately it's been too dangerous; there's no-one to watch her back in battle and she won't see reason no matter what I try to tell her. Would you be willing to work with her?"

"You mean babysit? Why not get one of her comrades to work with her?"

"No. Tai hardly needs babysitting…but she refuses to be teamed with WRO members. She's more than happy to participate in group raids against Deepground, but she won't do team missions. Please, Vincent…Will you help?"

Vincent didn't like the guilt-trip puppy eyes that Reeve seemed to have developed. While it was true that the girl was probably going to be more of a headache than she was worth with the lack of skill he'd seen from her, it wouldn't be anything he couldn't handle. The enigmatic gunslinger shrugged his shoulders vaguely.

"How much trouble could she be?"

Oh…he was later going to _regret_ those words.

There was a short knock at the door which turned the attention of both men to a visitor. Reeve gave a short "come in" and the handle twisted before the metal barrier slid open, allowing Tai to step through.

"Josef said you wanted to see me Reeve. Make it quick cause I have to pee before-"

She stopped mid-sentence, spotting Vincent reclining in the metal chair across from Reeve, his muscles tensed like a cat ready to respond to danger. He gave her a blank stare before placing his gauntleted hand on his knee, turning his eyes away from her in disinterest. Tai, however, was not so subtle as to ignore him. "Reeve, what's the beanpole doing here? I thought you needed to see me." Reeve noticed the technician's murky green eyes narrowing dangerously. She was waiting for some sort of assurance that Vincent was about to leave. Unfortunately for Reeve, he knew he could offer no such closure. This was not going to go down well: Tai already seemed to have an intense beef with the gunslinger.

…_Planet give me strength…_ He thought tiredly before drawing in a breathe, choosing his words carefully.

"What I have to say concerns Vincent as well, Tai. He's needs to stay for this."

_Mostly so you won't try to kill me…_ Reeve noted mentally, knowing full well that the spitfire tempered girl probably would at leats attempt it. She wasn't exactly known for her diplomacy; the girl was like a dragon with a pitchfork in its tail. Reeve had to tread carefully with his next words. Vincent was also taking note of her in the corner of his eye. She was dressed simply, obviously ready to call it a night; wearing a pair of black sweatpants, a threadbare gray tank top and a leather brace where her metal one used to be. _Odd that she keeps a support on her arm…A weakness perhaps?_ Vincent thought as he heard Reeve sigh heavily.

"Tai…Vincent is going to be joining you on all your missions from now on." The commissioner's face visibly flinched after he finished the sentence. To Vincent's surprise there was a brief moment of silence during which he noticed that Reeve did not breathe.

Then the penny dropped…

"SAY _WHAT_?" Tai bellowed, her features twisting into a violent scowl, her fists clenched and her teeth bared, "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'M GOING TO _AGREE_ TO THAT?"

"I'm sorry Tai, but you don't have a choice. Missions are becoming too dangerous for you to do solo. There's nobody to watch your back out there."

"And what good do you think Skeletor over there is going to be? I don't need some useless fucker tailing me and calling it helping!"

Vincent had been sitting back in this fight, but he didn't appreciate being insulted about his skill. "I'll have you know I was a Turk before you were even born." He rumbled, his voice completely calm and unperturbed.

She turned to him, her eyes narrowed it violent fury. "Then that makes you useless _and _old!" she hissed, fists clenched and jaw rigid with venomous words just _waiting_ for the opportunity to come forth.

Vincent turned and ignored her, seeing no point in continuing the conversation. Nothing he said was going to stop her from trolling aggression at him. She was too far gone into her rage for it to make any difference. The best way to diffuse such anger was to ignore it. Reeve however, didn't seem to know that. Instead of ignoring her, he tried to play the "_I'm-commissioner-so-I'm-pulling-rank-on-you_" card. The gunslinger could only assume how _that_ was going to go down.

"I'm sorry you feel so angry about this Tai…but it's not going to change. It's already decided; you have no choice in the matter."

The girl darted her head around once more, this time to Reeve. It was a wonder she hadn't yet given herself whiplash with the speed she kept snapping her head around. Vincent was surprised she wasn't already suffering from a snapped vertebra.

"_Fuck _you Reeve! I'm a freelance mercenary here! I can leave whenever I choose!" She cast and angry glare at Vincent and Reeve both before turning to leave. "I don't owe you anything!"

"What about what you owe to _her_?" Reeve called after her.

Tai stopped mid-step.

Vincent instantly noticed the change in the air. The girl's fists were clenching so tightly her could see her nails biting into the flesh of her palm. He felt Chaos suddenly stir within him, a primal instinct informing him that there was _malice_ in the room. Rage seethed from Tai, so much more focused and violent than before that it was _tangible_. She turned on her heel, fist raised to strike as she charged towards Reeve.

"How _DARE_ you!" she screeched, drawing her punch back, ready to belt the commissioner back into the Lifestream itself. That was where Vincent took control of the situation. With speed born from years of battle experience, he intercepted and caught Tai's fist inches from Reeve's face. She gasped in shock, turning to him in disbelief as she looked up at him and despite the physical height difference, nothing in her body language demonstrated intimidation.

"I know you're angry, but I don't think it would be wise to attack your superior." He muttered deeply. The gunslinger's eyes bore down into hers, trying to catalogue the emotions he read there. Rage was the strongest and most consuming; but there was something else there that he couldn't quite assess, because she wrenched herself from his grasp and backed away from the two of them. She darted her eyes back and forth before pointing at Vincent with bitter fury carved into her expression.

"You don't know _shit_." She hissed, voice lowered to a dangerous and almost threatening level.

Then she turned to Reeve. "And you…" she continued, "…have no right. I don't like this. I don't _have_ to...but fine. If I have to do this, just know it's fucking not for _you_."

Before any response could be made, she headed for the door. Vincent noticed that her footfalls were heavier than before, they were angrier. She was certainly going to be more trouble than he had originally thought.

"Hey, Skeletor!" Tai snapped; her hand already resting on the door to leave. She had her back to them, but it was clear she was addressing Vincent. "Don't get in my way out there. Because if you do…" she turned her head to the side so that he could see the outline of her face, "…I'll blow you straight back to Hell." And with that, she was gone.

Oh yes...he was _definitely_ going to regret this…


End file.
